10/06/20 - Masterclass: Solving the Skills Gap with DCMS

Solving the UK’s cyber security skills gap

Masterclass: Solving the Cyber Security Skills Gap with DCMS

About
Taking findings from DCMS’s latest cyber security labour market study, published in March 2020, we will explore three areas:
1. The demand for cyber skills in the UK
2. The training and qualifications landscape
3. Recruitment and diversity

This DCMS study took place before the coronavirus pandemic, which has led many UK businesses to reassess their business models and skills needs, and make major changes to their recruitment, training and ways of working. Do these changes present further stumbling blocks or potential opportunities to address skills gaps in new ways?

The format of this masterclass will be a mix of short presentations of the study findings by the authors, followed by a set of interactive virtual discussions between attendees.

There will be a chance to ask questions of the authors as well as the academic advisors on the study, and colleagues from government who were involved in commissioning and supporting the study.

Speakers

Erika Lewis, Director Cyber Security and Digital Identity, DCMSErika Lewis was a founding member of London Government, moving from the voluntary sector to join the set-up team in the London Development Agency in April 2000. At the LDA she delivered regeneration programmes across London, in particular working with the Finsbury Park Partnership and on the Olympic Park delivery programme. Subsequently the Director of Strategy at the LDA, she was responsible for the development and delivery of the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy.
In 2012, Erika became a Project Director at the Competition and Markets Authority where she delivered two merger investigations and led the Private Motor Insurance and Energy Market Investigation.
Erika joined DCMS in 2018 to deliver the National Data Strategy, in addition she was responsible for Data Policy and Ethics. In December 2019 Erika was appointed Director, Cyber Security and Digital Identity.

David has significant global cyber security technology, policy and domain expertise developed over his 20 year career. CSIT has been the UK’s Innovation & Knowledge Centre (IKC) for cyber security since 2009, was recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research by GCHQ in 2012 and was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015.

He leads on developing new and existing strategic relationships with mainly public sector partners internationally, nationally and regionally that have a role or interest in cyber security research, innovation and public policy. Within Queen's University Belfast's ECIT Global Research Institute, he also holds a broader remit as part of its Senior Management Group.

David is currently an invited member of the UK Multi-stakeholder Access Group on Cyber (Foreign & Commonwealth Office), leads ECIT’s engagement with the UK Defence Solutions Centre, and is founding Partner and Past-President of The Global Ecosystem of Ecosystems Partnership in Innovation and Cybersecurity (Global EPIC). David co-founded cyber security start-up, Liopa Ltd, is member of the NI Organised Crime Task Force Cyber Crime sub-group and a member of Northern Ireland Cyber Leadership Board.

He co-authored the UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2018 and 2020 and Understanding the UK cyber security skills labour market 2020 for the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) as well as the Northern Ireland Cyber Security Framework for Action published by the NI Department for Finance in 2018 . David curates and co-chairs the annual CSIT Cyber Security Summit, co-founded the Cyber Security Transatlantic Policy Forum and has advised the Northern Ireland Organised Crime Task Force Cyber Crime Group since 2013.

Previously he was a Security Policy advisor and a Systems Engineer at the Northern Ireland Office where he advised the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Ministers on security policy, drafted security legislation (Justice & Security NI Act 2007), was policy lead for Article 2 cases at the ECHR following promotion from a systems engineering role where he developed and maintained security marked IT systems up to STRAP 2. He has also technical experience in industry as a Product Manager at Lagan Technologies, IT Manager at Jinny Software and was an eCommerce Consultant with Intel Corporation.

David holds a BSc (Hons) Computer Science, an MSc Innovation & Entrepreneurship and was a Fellow on the U.S. State Department sponsored 2018 Boston College All-Ireland Strengthening Cybersecurity Professional Exchange Programme to Washington D.C. and Boston.

Professor Steve Furnell, Professor of Information Security, University of PlymouthSteven Furnell is a professor of information security and leads the Centre for Security, Communications & Network Research at the University of Plymouth. He is also an Adjunct Professor with Edith Cowan University in Western Australia and an Honorary Professor with Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. His research interests include usability of security and privacy, security management and culture, and technologies for user authentication and intrusion detection. He has authored over 320 papers in refereed international journals and conference proceedings, as well as books including Cybercrime: Vandalizing the Information Society and Computer Insecurity: Risking the System. Prof. Furnell is the current Chair of Technical Committee 11 (security and privacy) within the International Federation for Information Processing, and a member of related working groups on security management, security education, and human aspects of security. He is also a board member of CIISec and chairs the academic partnership committee and southwest branch.

Jayesh Navin ShahJayesh Navin Shah is a researcher at Ipsos MORI. He has directed several recent studies focused on the UK cyber security sector and wider tech sector. This includes the 2020 cyber sectoral analysis, five waves of the Cyber Security Breaches Survey, two waves of research on the UK cyber security labour market and the development of a tool to make it easier for businesses to assess the costs of cyberattacks – all carried out on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Jayesh is currently working on another year of the sectoral analysis and the labour market study, and he has started work on a baseline study on skills gaps in artificial intelligence roles in the UK.

Chaired by Owanate Bestman

Owanate spent 15 years recruiting Technology and Operational Risk specialists, during which he was successful in staffing a number of high profile banking regulatory programmes.

Owanate has spent the last 7 years recruiting specifically in the Cyber Security field and has secured individuals and teams that meet specific technical and/ or leadership requirements for some of the world’s largest companies, to the mutual benefit of individuals’ career progression and the needs of the company.

Today, he advises CISO’s, Heads of Security and HR on hiring trends, market movements, and of course staffing needs. Working with technical security specialists and non-technical security specialists - Owanate assists professionals throughout the entire security spectrum. He founded Bestman Solutions in 2020.

FAQs

Am I eligible to attend?The event is available for all CIISec Membership levels

How to register?Please sign into your membership profile and register.

Where can I contact the organiser with any questions?
For further information please contact events@ciisec.org